River flyfishing strategies

Fish

It has been said that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water.  It has also been said that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish.  The actual numbers are debatable, but it is true that fish are concentrated in certain parts of the river and that a few anglers are much more successful that others.  To become a more successful angler it is important to know how to find the high percentage water and how to select an appropriate presentation to fool the fish holding there.

If you can put yourself in a fish’ shoes, or rather fins, you will begin to understand their needs and why they are found in certain places in the river.  I use a simple and systematic approach to finding fishy locations.  This simplified approach will be a great start to developing your understanding of a river and will provide you with a solid foundation as you explore and develop you own on-water observations and experience.

Where are all the happy fish?

Fish are not overly intelligent beings, but they do have strong survival instincts.  These instincts make them very aware of things that might eat them.  They also know how to find food and save energy.  Fish that have all of these things are usually at ease in their environment and are more likely to bite your fly.

When I am looking at new water I grade the water in 4 categories or the 4 C’s.  I look to areas a couple of yards square and quickly grade them in terms of Cover, calories, current, comfort that they provide to determine if it is a good spot to present a fly or if I should look for a better place to wet a line.

I give each category a grade.  I use letters, but use numbers or a pass/fail rating, and if you like you are free to use it as your scoring system!  After quickly assessing the cover, calories, current, and comfort, I break down the marks.

The better the “report card” the better the fishing spot.  If the area receives marks that you have love to have brought home in high school then get your fly ready and start deciding on how to approach the water because you are probably looking at a spot with at least a few nice fish in it.  If the grade is something that you would be hiding from your parents, then it might be best to move on.  If the spot receives a failing grade in any one subject, this may also be reason to move on to another area.

Areas where fish sit are called lies.  Areas that provide cover from the current and predators that also have a good food supply are called prime lies.  The better the quality of the lie the better quality of fish you can expect to find in that spot.  Small fish and often more fish are found in lower grade lies.

Back to School: Breaking down the Subjects.

This type of study is more focused than most of your high school teachings.  Knowing more about the 4 C’s will help you catch more fish, so it is worth studying!

Cover:  Fish Dinner Anyone?

Fish are popular menu items for a wide variety of animals.  In nature fish need to be able to escape from osprey, eagles, kingfishers, herons, otters, mink, bigger fish, and… us, the anglers!  What generally makes a lot of fish feel safe is having overhead cover.  This can be in a form of an overhanging tree or an undercut bank.  It can also be in the form of the shady side of a rock or the water itself can provide cover.  Bigger fish perceive deep water as safer as is water where the surface is broken or rippled and difficult to see into.  Places where you can’t see the bottom are often fishy spots.

Fish are not comfortable if they are spooked and fearing for their lives.  Just as you would really not with to raise a family in a war torn area or in a neighborhood where you don’t feel comfortable, fish will avoid areas where they don’t feel secure.  Having heavy footed, loud wading humans around makes them uncomfortable.  Having aerial predators like eagles and osprey in the area keeps the fish on edge.  Seeing other fish tear through a pool after being hooked can make fish move on or take cover.  After being caught or hooked a few times things like poorly placed fly lines and flies skating across the water in an unnatural fashion can really put fish on the defensive and make them stop eating or get out of the area.  So don’t expect to find fish willing to eat your fly presentation if they fear for their lives because they are in a compromising area where they are susceptible to being eaten by something further up the food chain.

Humans are a key predator that fish can learn to avoid.  On the Suskie many of the larger fish seem to place themselves in spots that are difficult to get a fly.  These fly may be very visible, but getting a nice drift of your fly is a different story.  Whether by fortunate circumstance or experience it is often the case that the bigger fish are tougher to catch.

Current:  The River Flows

Fish living in a river seek shelter from the current.  This is simply an energy expenditure issue.  Living in the full flow of the current requires fish to use a lot of energy, sort of like if you lived your life running on a treadmill.  If the speed is turned up, you burn a lot of calories, you can do this for awhile, but trying this all day everyday would wear you out pretty quickly.  Fish look for breaks in the current that are near the flow.  Flowing water is very important to most river fish as it usually brings food to the fish just like a conveyor belt.

Current breaks can take many forms.  The things you should be looking for are obvious obstructions like rocks, logs, trees, and undercut banks.  Less obvious current breaks are where two currents merge, deeper water, pockets, and ledges on the river bottom.  The larger the current break or “pillow” as many anglers term these areas, the bigger the fish that might enjoy resting in this area.

One time when fish may disregard protection form the current is when there is a great amount of food flowing down the river.  At these times if the energy expenditure is less than the bounty of food available fish will position themselves in an area to best take advantage of the food.

Calorie Counting

Fish operate the opposite way from most people.  Calling a fish a big, fat, giant, monster pig is a compliment.  Don’t try the same “compliments” on your wife unless you like the couch or want to find alternative living arrangements.  Many people constantly try to lose weight – fish always try to gain it.  They do this by being lazy and staying as close to the front of the buffet line as possible.  Knowing where the river’s buffet lines are located is important.

The main food factory in most rivers is found in shallow riffle areas.  Why is the food found here?  Shallow fast moving areas in the river provides the best “factory sites” for filter feeding aquatic insects.  These bugs pull plankton, algae and other little tasty bits of food out of the water flowing by.  The more water flowing by, the more food they can eat.  When teaching fly-fishing lessons, many of my students are truly amazed by how many bugs are found on and underneath the rocks on the bottom of the river.  They never knew that each rock could be crawling with nymphs and aquatic worms.

The nice part about this for fly fishers and trout is that living in a strong current is a risky business for little invertebrates.  Bugs can easily get flushed out of their “factories” and end up on the fish food conveyor belt.  Looking for fish in the first water below a productive riffle is a super spot to find fish on just about any river.  If the riffle is deep enough and offers some cover and pockets that provide protection from the current it can be a great place to intercept feeding fish.

Shallow margins of the river are another productive feeding area.  These areas are home to minnows, crayfish and other critters that sue the shallow warm water that collects sediment and debris.  The only problem with these shallow flat areas for the fly fisher is that larger fish do not usually feel comfortable moving into these areas because of exposure to predators.  This is partly why so many of these smaller organisms are found here.  However, under low light conditions big fish may venture into these areas just because there is so much food in these places.

A third source of food in the river is from outside the river.  Bugs like ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and inchworms often find themselves taking an unexpected swim.  So areas with bank side vegetation that are exposed to wind are good areas to find fish looking for a terrestrial treat.

Finding what the fish are eating or could be eating takes some observation skills.  I like to take my time when I get to a fishy looking spot and shake the bushes to see if there has been a hatch recently or if there is an abundance of terrestrial insects around.  Then I go to a flat and see if a lot of minnows and crayfish are scooting around and then I pull a few rocks out of a riffle area.  With the knowledge I gain from these observations, I can then make an educated fly selection

Selecting the Fly du Jour

Looking at the water in front of you ask yourself the questions what food is available to the fish?  If there are bugs hatching and fish rising your job is pretty simple, but if this is not the case you need to determine of the fish should be concentrated in a few key holding places or if they could be spread out throughout a lot of good, but somewhat consistent habitat.

Comforts of Home

Fish like to live a comfortable existence, just like you and I do.  Knowing what the fish your are targeting deems “comfortable” can be helpful.  Knowing the temperature, habitat, water condition and current preferences of fish can really help you find them.  With a bit of experience and through doing some homework, you can find out what different species find to be comfortable living conditions.

Light

Light levels are another comfort factor to consider.  After all fish don’t have eyelids.  So finding a big fish in shallow clear water on a sunny day is not common.  It is dimply not comfortable for the fish and it can be dangerous if there are any airborne predators around.

Temperature and Oxygen

Trout like cool, clean, oxygen rich water.  What makes a bass comfortable could kill a trout so knowing what the preferences of the species you are looking for can be important.

One thing to consider is that as the water warms its ability to hold dissolved oxygen is reduced.  Warmer water also increases a fish’s metabolism.  With trout when the water approaches 70F they are not happy because they cannot extract enough oxygen from the water.  Ethically, I stop targeting trout once the water temp’s get above 70F.  If the trout does bite your fly it will probably put up a weak fight because it is probably oxygen stressed and might not survive the ordeal.

That being said, 70F is a perfect water temperature to target bass.  They are very happy and feisty in these conditions.  If you have the luxury to being able to target different fish species in close proximity like on the Towanda Creek which holds smallies and trout, it is very appropriate to go with the best option.

Colder water although oxygen rich, slows the metabolism of most fish.  In extremely cold waters fish may become inactive so slower presentations in slower water are usually more productive when the mercury plummets.

Clarity

Water Clarity is a double edged sword.  Too clear and the fish can see your every move, too dirty and the chances of the fish finding your fish are similar to finding a needle in a haystack.  Clarity preferences can also differ between species, and sometimes even from creek to creek or river to river.  For example, I have my best luck target trib Steelhead when I can just make out my boot laces when I am standing in knee deep water.  This would equal to 2 or 3 feet of visibility.  Experience on the water and local knowledge can help you determine what the local fish prefer.

Reproduction

Spawning season provide another “comfort factor” fish are programmed to spawn under particular water conditions and at a certain time of the year.  At these times, look to find fish in known spawning areas.  Not only will you fish staging to spawn, you will usually find other fish feeding on the bits that get washed out of the redds during nest construction and egg laying.  Salmon or trout spawning in the river brings out a lot of fish downstream of the activity gorging on eggs and aquatic insects washed off the rocks.  This is a great situation to take advantage of with a appropriate imitation.

Making the Pitch

Getting your fly to fish in a natural manner that will entice the fish to bite has a lot of parallels with the sales process.  You have to do your homework about your “customer” then you have to make a successful sales pitch and then close the deal.  The information about the 4 C’s above will help you with the research.  This information will help you identify your customers and what they might respond to.

The sales pitches that fly anglers make come in the form of casts or fly presentation.  I like to break down my pitches into two main categories:  Searching patterns and precision techniques.  These roughly parallel mass marketing and personalized marketing.  To determine which type is best for the water in front of me, I make a decision as to whether the fish should be concentrated in a specific spot or they could be scattered throughout several spots in the river.

Mass Marketing with a Fly

Searching techniques are used when you have a large amount of water in front of you that could hold fish.  If you encounter a boulder studded run, a wide riffle with several fishy looking pockets, a deep flat or a tailout with scatter boulders or some other similar situation where you have a ton of fishy looking spots to work, I reach for a streamer or a wet fly.  These flies are fished best downstream on a swing.  This allows you to cover a lot of water efficiently.  Strikes can come at any time and showing your fly to as many fishy spots as possible is very beneficial.

I like to do what I call the “Fly Guy 2 Step”.  I take 2 casts, let them work across the stream and then take 2 steps downstream.  I continue this through the fishy part of the water.  This technique systematically shows the fly to a large number of potential fish holding locations.  I work streamers aggressively and can really cover water quickly with these flies.  Wet flies are a little more subtle and slower to work, but if fish are used to eating smaller insects this presentation can be incredibly effective.

Dry Fly and Nymph Searching can also be effective.  However these presentation do not swing across the current.  Searching with these patterns is done straight downstream with the flow of the current.  With dry flies many people float them next to the bank or over other high percentage areas like current seams, foam lines, and the tongue of a tailout.  With nymphs, a “grid approach” to covering the water of a run or pool can be an effective searching pattern.  Make cast progressively further across the river to cover the water in each current lane.  I like to step out the casts in about 6 inch increments.  Once I have covered all the water in front of me, I reposition and repeat the process a half-cast length downstream or upstream.

The searching approach is something I use a lot of the time.  It is fun to get out and cover water.  I have found that my feet are my best tools to get into fish.  I wade a lot and then use searching techniques to locate fish.  Once I find them, I settle down and start using more precise presentations to stay on the action.

Precision Fishing

I use a precision presentation when I find a small piece of water that I am pretty sure has a few fish or a really nice one tucked in it or if I have found a couple of fish using a searching technique and want to see of there are more fish around willing to bite my flies.  Seeing fish rising to eat bugs off the surface is another obvious time to pull out a precision technique.

If there is a well-defined current seam, a small cluster of boulders overhanging tree or cut bank that you feel the fish will be using, learn towards a precision presentation to work the area precisely and thoroughly.  Any fly presentation can be used to make a precision presentation, but dry flies floated right over a rising fish, or a nymph rig worked systematically through a piece of water are my preferred precision techniques.

Precision presentations allow you to float a fly exactly to where you think a fish will eat it.  The dry fly rides on the surface and floats over the lie that you think holds a fish and the nymph bounces along the bottom right where you think the fish are holding. 

Books have been written on approaches with dry flies by generally you want to pick a fly that is similar to what the fish are familiar with eating and to drift it over their heads with a drag free drift.  This us usually done by approaching the fish from downstream, casting above the fish, and letting your fly drift into the feeding lane.  There are many other ways to present a dry fly, but this is an excellent starting point.  If this approach does not work, consider casting from a new position or twitching your fly on occasion.  These two changes can often result in strikes from fish that don’t go with the traditional dry-fly approach.  Another thing to try is attractor dry flies or small any and beetles.  These small flies have resulted in a lot of fish for me when I could not figure out what they were eating.

If the water I want to work is deeper and provides all the needs of a fish, I like to pick it apart with a nymph presentation.  There are many different ways to present a nymph, but generally you want to get your fly near the bottom and have it flow at about the same speed as the naturals right through where you think the fish are feeding.  Using an indicator is the easiest way to accomplish this, but there are many other techniques that will help you get to the bottom of things and to hook up with fish.

What I have briefly covered is what I feel a great starting point to help you be more successful on the water.  This is not a complete description of exactly how to fish all situations on the water and I hope no one ever produces such a document because they would be typing forever!!  Adapting to different conditions and different water is a life-long process of discovery that I encourage you to take up.  I am learning every time I am on the water and expect I will be learning for a lot of years to come.  I hope you can take this information and a good fishing friend out to the river as often as you can and build on this information.

Systematic Check List

I really don’t like making fly-fishing sound like my day at the office, but unfortunately in times when people are rushed for time and want to make most of their time on the water, it is pretty effective.  In this busy day and age it is also something that a lot of people relate to because they use checklists and systematic approaches in their day-to-day lives.  This approach will help you find fish, but feel free to go off the roadmap and explore with your own thoughts, intuition, and style.  Doing your own thing to have a great time on the water is really what fly-fishing is all about.

Check List

Approach the water slowly and be observant.  Look for things like the following:

Cover:

This can take many forms but look for deeper water, logs, fallen trees, overhanging grass, undercut banks, foam lines, boulders, rippled water, current seams.

Calories:

Look for flying insects, birds flying over the river, shake the bushes to see if there are insects in them.  Then in the water look for minnows in the shallows and go to a riffle area to sample what food is found there that might be available to the fish.

Current:

Watch the bubbles on the surface to see if there are different speeds of current across the river.  Look for foam lines where flows converge.  Look for darker deep water that might indicate a hole, pocket, or ledge.  Also take note of log jams, boulders and the size if rocks on the bottom and determine where the fish holding lies might be.

Comfort:

Take note of water temperature, weather, water clarity and other things that might make the fish happy or unhappy.

Scan the water in front of you for small spots that could be quality lies for fish.  Use a grading system to determine the relative merits of the rock on the far bank, where the riffle drops into a run or the shallow riffle areas.

Ask yourself if there are several similar potential lies or a few focused ones.  If there is a lit of potential fish holding water, pick for favorite searching technique and seek out the fish.

If there are a couple of concentrated spots that you would like to fish then determine what presentation you think might be best and work the area thoroughly.

Most of all….  Have fun!!